The action is heating up at the WTA Chicago Classic as with the third round set to begin on day four. Some evenly poised matchups await on Thursday in The Windy City and, as always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match, including Garbine Muguruza vs Victoria Azarenka. But who will come out on top?
WTA Chicago Day 4 Predictions
Ons Jabeur vs Jessica Pegula
Head-to-head: Pegula 2-0 Jabeur
Ons Jabeur had a total meltdown the last time these two played in Montreal a few months ago. Jabeur led 6-1 5-4 and served for the match but went on to lose 0-6 in the deciding set. Jabeur made an emphatic start to her Chicago campaign, winning 6-1 6-0 against Su-Wei Hsieh in 45 minutes. Pegula has also moved into the third round without much fuss, claiming a pair of straight set wins over Magdalene Frech and Andrea Petkovic. Jabeur has more to her game, if she’s on then she should win this, but Pegula is steady enough to win if Jabeur isn’t on her game. I’ll side with Jabeur given her ruthless win in the previous round.
Prediction: Jabeur in 3
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Elena Rybakina vs Veronika Kudermetova
Head-to-head: Rybakina 2-0
Rybakina comfortably defeated Kudermetova 6-1 6-3 in just over an hour when they faced off in Ostrava a few weeks ago. Kudermetova has at least managed to claim back-to-back victories this week for the first time in over four months, perhaps she can push the Kazakh harder on this occasion.
Kudermetova snuck through a tough opener in Chicago, beating Anna Kalinskaya 7-6 4-6 6-2 before cruising past Harriet Dart 6-3 6-4, a favourable draw for the Russian. Rybakina received a bye through the opening round before beating Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-4 6-4. On paper this looks like another straight set win for Rybakina but that’s not usually how women’s tennis works. Kudermetova is capable when she gets on a roll, perhaps this is where her fortunes change as she catches Rybakina off guard.
Prediction: Kudermetova in 3
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Jil Teichmann vs Marketa Vondrousova
Head-to-head: first meeting
An interesting match-up between a pair of crafty lefties. Teichmann and Vondrousova have both been able to produce patches of their best tennis during the last couple of months. There are a lot of similarities in the way these two play, both possessing loopy lefty forehands, flatter backhands and a heap of variety to their games. Both reached the third round without dropping a set.
Teichmann defeated Kaia Kanepi 7-6 7-5 and Magda Linette 6-2 6-4, whilst Vondrousova defeated Ajla Tomljanovic 6-2 6-1 before beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3 6-2. There seems to be very little to split the pair heading into their first career meeting. I’ll give the slight edge to Teichmann, Vondrousova seems more likely to go missing in an extended battle and has generally been the more inconsistent of the pair lately.
Prediction: Teichmann in 3
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Elise Mertens vs Danielle Collins
Head-to-head: Mertens 1-0
Mertens comfortably defeated Collins 6-3 6-2 at Wimbledon in 2018 in their only previous meeting. Expect a much closer match to unfold on this occasion. Collins has won 19 of her last 23 matches and enters this clash fresh from a gutsy 4-6 6-3 7-5 win over Misaki Doi. Collins had a far easier time in her opening round match where she beat Kirsten Flipkens 6-4 6-2. Meanwhile, Elise Mertens received an opening round bye before cruising past an errant Dayana Yastremska 6-1 6-3.
This should be a tight match, filled with long rallies. Collins is seemingly better prepared after a tough match in the previous round, whilst Mertens hasn’t been able to get into much rhythm yet this week. Collins has generally been in better form of late, which seemingly gives her the slight edge heading into this evenly poised clash.
Prediction: Collins in 3
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